


Peter Parker's Weird Spider Tendencies

by trxshbound



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Embarrassed Peter Parker, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Peter Parker Acts Like a Spider, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, honestly idk where this came from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:56:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17640578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trxshbound/pseuds/trxshbound
Summary: Peter Parker is used to his regular spider-like abilities; being able to stick to stuff, using web shooters, the works. However, there are some things he hasn't discovered, and he isn't quite sure he can get used to or come to terms with.Alternatively: Peter Parker rolls down a hill in front of the Avengers, starts exclusively drinking smoothies, and more as he comes to terms with his... tendencies.





	1. watch him rollin, watch him go

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I don't know where this came from, and I don't have the best idea of where it's going, but feel free to come along for the ride!  
> (Also, this is the first thing I've ever posted here, and i'm sleep deprived so please be gentle lmao)

_spider fact #1275: when a wheel spider is scared, it will tuck its legs in, and roll away._

 

A picnic was definitely up there on the list of weird things Steve came up with to “bring the team closer together”. Even though some (read: Tony Stark) acted like they were less than enthused, it was safe to assume that there was something about going to park for a picnic instead of defending Earth from aliens that was appealing.

They planned to go to a park close to the tower that was relatively calm, with only a few people strolling along the paths. They intended on going later in the afternoon, since nothing would ruin the picnic more than being bombarded by a bunch of fans, especially if they were some of the more… enthusiastic ones.

Out of all of them, however, Peter was the most excited. As soon as Tony had told him that Captain America was planning a picnic and he was invited along with the rest of the Avengers, he had been nearly impossible to calm down. He hadn’t been on a picnic since he was seven, and he still recalled the great memories that came along with it. He immediately asked May if he could stay for the weekend, and soon enough after he received her approval, he was running all over the place, trying to put together “necessities” for the following day. His eagerness was infectious, and Tony couldn’t help but feel optimistic too.

Peter bounded into the room abruptly and began bombarding Tony with questions.

“Mister Stark! Should I wear this shirt or this one? Or maybe… this one?” Peter had asked, stars in his eyes, struggling to hold three shirts up, so Tony could see.

“I dunno, kid, I don’t think it matters what you wear, it’s just a picnic,” Tony offered. Peter stared at Tony intently, flashing his puppy dog eyes and silently pleaded him for a more definitive answer.

Tony sighed and gave in, “Go with the short sleeve with the stripes. It’s supposed to be warm tomorrow ” Peter quickly thanked him and sped into another room, and Tony smiled fondly at him as he went. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.  
Before Peter knew it, the next day crept up on him. Throughout school, he had been far more upbeat than usual, and everyone took notice. Even when Flash had thrown a pen at him in Physics, he had kept the same optimistic mood and continued to chatter animatedly. Soon enough, the last bell rang, and he sprinted through the school, out the door, and practically jumped in Happy’s car.

Happy jumped when he landed in the backseat. He didn’t bother asking why the teen was so excited, and just grumbled a complaint. On the way to the park, Peter was bouncing in his seat like a little kid, and once they arrived, he quickly made his way to the entrance of the park where most of them were waiting. He noticed that Natasha was missing, but chose to ignore it, assuming she’d show up soon like she usually did.

He greeted them quickly, and they set up their stuff, checkered blanket and all, at the crest of a hill. He was starving, so he dove into a sandwich immediately, before he even sat down, ignoring the light chuckles of the rest of the team at his impatience. The mood was light, and all was well.

That is, it was. Until Natasha came out of nowhere and tapped Peter on the shoulder. She was going to ask if he wanted any water, but before she could say anything he let out a girlish shriek and threw his sandwich into the air. He fell and curled into a ball within mere seconds, and Steve immediately bolted up in concern, but Natasha and Clint just chuckled.

Tony was buckled over, almost in tears over his reaction to just being tapped on the shoulder, had he been that into the sandwich? Bruce just shook his head, but had a grin on his face, and eventually Steve relaxed and began chuckling as well. Everyone had begun to smile, and were blissfully unaware of the disastrous scene that was beginning to unfold in front of them.

Peter Parker, Spiderman, who was usually clumsy as is, began to _roll down the hill._

If they had thought his first shriek was loud, this one was deafening. He began to gain speed, and Steve had already begun chasing him down the hill, shouting after him. Meanwhile, Tony had fallen down in his laughter, Clint began roaring with laughter, pulling out his phone to record this mess, and Bruce looked alarmed. Out of the blue, Bruce’s face lit up in some sort of recognition, and he pulled out his phone. He gathered everyone around it, including a concerned, mother-hen Steve, and a very dizzy and embarrassed Peter, who had returned from the foot of the hill.

They stared at his phone screen in confusion, as a spider rolled through sand in what seemed to be a desert.

“I mean, that _does_ look like what just happened,” Clint joked.

“Yeah, but that’s not the point! This is a specific type of spider that curls into a ball and rolls away when it’s scared!” Bruce exclaimed.

“Yeah, and?” Steve questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

At this point, Tony had connected the dots, and was thrown into another fit of laughter, which had honestly become concerning.

“And Peter is part spider. He possesses some qualities similar to those seen in spiders, such as this particular trait found in wheel spiders,” Bruce explained.

Clint joined Tony in laughing, and soon enough they were all cracking up. Peter was still blushing, but at that moment, he was just happy that they actually did manage to bond.

For the rest of the afternoon, they ate, chattered, and enjoyed each other’s company. Tony stepped out of the conversation for a moment to stretch his legs, and looked back. He was hit with a feeling of warmth as he saw the golden sun hitting their faces. They were all smiling, and the sight was tender and calm. Peter had a sleepy smile on his face, Steve looked relaxed, and for once no one was arguing.

 _‘God, when did I become such a sap?’_ Tony thought to himself. He was walking back, continuing to observe the scene, when he made eye contact with Steve. He gave a soft smile and a small thumbs up, and sat down by Peter.

“Alright, it’s been fun, but I think I need to get Underoos here to bed,” Tony announced, “Don’t want his aunt to kill me for not getting him to bed on time.”  
Peter grumbled about not having a bedtime, but they packed up anyways. One thing was certain; he’d be a little more on edge, especially at school. God, he couldn’t imagine having to explain that to anyone. The thought of it alone made him fill with embarrassment.

Despite it all, he felt a familiar warmth grow within him, and he knew the others felt it too.


	2. mary, is that a police?! i'm calling the weed! (420, whatcha smokin'?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter accidentally takes Tony's coffee order (which has enough caffeine to kill a small mammal) and begins to find that his webs don't work as well. Tony finds out, and they find yet another quirk of his. Fluff and laughter ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah, the response to the last chapter made me really happy?? you guys are great, and hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

_ spider fact #3428: different drugs affect the way spiders spin their webs. for example, spiders on LSD make wonderful webs, but on caffeine their webs are awful. _

 

A couple of weeks had passed since the “picnic incident” (which was named by Ned, of course), and Peter had managed to not roll away from something, or someone, which had made him pretty happy.

 

Of course, he couldn’t go without any other “incidents” for too long.

 

It had come after a casual day at school. Peter got through the day without any major issues, and he was going to the tower for the weekend to work on his suit, which had sustained some damage (mostly just a couple tears) from one of his last fights. He was also going to spend some time with Tony, and although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, that was his favorite part.

 

Sure, Spiderman had consumed most of his life. In a way, it was a heavy weight on his shoulders, but it also managed to make him feel happy. To him, it made him feel like he was worth something, and on bad days, it helped him get up. He was  _ Spiderman _ . He had a responsibility, and he was going to honor it.

 

But, in a bigger way, being close to Tony made him feel like he was worth even more. Out of seven _billion_ people, _he_ managed to get his attention. He, a small boy from Queens, managed to become the protege of _Iron_ _Man_. Even more than that, he felt like he could trust Tony, and felt like he had a father figure in a way.

 

Not that he’d admit it if you asked.

 

So, as soon as he was able to leave, he burst out of the doors and waited enthusiastically for Happy to arrive. He heard the faint snickers of Flash, but ignored them. He had much more important things racing through his mind.

 

Happy pulled up to the curb soon enough, and Peter practically fell into the car. When he was buckled up, Happy pressed on the gas, probably wanting to get out of the area before the traffic got too heavy.

 

“Hey, I need to stop and get the boss some coffee, you want anything?” Happy had quickly asked.

 

“O-oh, um, n-no I’m okay,” Peter had begun to stutter out, “I don’t have any money with me.”

 

Happy barked out a laugh before stating, “You’re not paying, Tony is, what do you want?”

 

Peter squirmed in his seat. He was thankful for it, but in a way it made him feel guilty. Happy begun to sigh, so Peter quickly named a drink he had tried once when he went to get coffee with Ned and MJ last. It hadn’t been too bad, a little bitter, but still good nonetheless.

 

An awkward silence fell between them, and soon enough the screen he had grown far too used to slid up. He let out a sigh, but pulled his homework out of his bag and begun working.

 

Before he knew it, they were at the tower, and Happy shoved the tray of drinks towards him.

 

“I have to attend to important business, so can you just give him his drink when you get up there?” Happy requested impatiently. Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Happy had already begun to slide the screen back up. He smiled softly, knowing the man had no true hard feelings against him, and begun to walk over to the elevator in quick strides.

 

He pressed the button, and walked in, sighing in relief when he found that it was empty. 

 

“Hey Fri, can you please bring me up to the lab?” He requested in a small voice. Even after coming to the tower so often, it felt a little weird to talk to the ceiling, but sure enough, the AI responded.

 

“Of course, Peter. Should I alert boss of your arrival?”

 

“No, that’s okay, thank you,” He responded.

The elevator began its ascent, and he felt himself relax. He was probably just going to drop off the coffee and go work on his homework. Tony usually made him finish his work first anyway, claiming that even if he is a superhero, he still needs to graduate, as though Peter had any other plans. Even so, he appreciated that there was someone looking out for him besides May.

 

The elevator let out a “ding”, and the doors slid open. He stepped out, and padded over to where Tony was diligently working on a new piece of tech, he set the tray down, grabbed Tony’s coffee, and set it down by an empty mug that read, “ _I am Iron Man”_ in bold text. 

 

Peter couldn’t help but snicker at it, and Tony jumped.

 

“Woah! When did you get here, kid?” he said affectionately as he tousled his hair, which Peter grumbled at.

 

Peter smoothed his hair back down, which didn’t really work, and responded, “Just now, and I brought the coffee Happy got!”

 

“Oh, thank god,” Tony sighed and took a large sip.

 

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “It tastes sweeter than usual... oh well, caffeine is caffeine.”

 

Peter shrugged, and grabbed his bag and coffee, and said goodbye to Tony.

 

He got up to his room (which he would be eternally grateful for) and plopped in a bean bag chair. He carefully set his drink down, along with his homework and writing utensils. He cracked his fingers with a sigh and began to work.

 

Peter had begun intently working on his Chemistry homework, when he suddenly remembered his drink. He twisted around in his chair, grabbed it, and took a huge gulp, as though he was dying of thirst.

 

He almost spit it out, because it was way more bitter than he remembered, but begrudgingly swallowed it. He continued working, ignoring the drink. He had gotten through most of his work when his pencil ran out of lead, so he turned back to his backpack, grabbed a couple more pieces, and was about to turn right back to his equations when he saw the offending drink. He felt bad just wasting it, so he hesitantly took another sip, and then another, and another. Eventually, he grew used to the bitterness, and it didn’t taste so bad anymore. 

 

He continued his work, humming as he took a sip every so often. Before he knew it, his homework was done, along with his drink. He felt energized, and had a strange urge to keep working. He didn’t have any more schoolwork, and he really didn’t want to work on his suit, considering all the caffeine had made him jittery. 

 

He finally came to the decision that he’d work on some of his webbing techniques. He grabbed a pair of webshooters that were lying on the desk, and after making sure they were fully loaded, shot them at the wall he had dubbed the “practice wall”. It was covered in webs, some that hadn’t dissolved due to being prototypes for different web fluids. He knew he should probably clean it sometime soon, but he just hadn’t been able to bring himself to do so.

 

When he shot them, they stuck. For some reason, he felt bored. He knew they’d work, the formula was specially developed so they’d stick well, and the webshooters were designed to help him shoot more accurately. There really wasn’t a lot he could work on with them unless he made a different fluid, which he already determined would be a bad idea. 

 

Then, he remembered he could produce his own webs. It was a little weird, and he didn’t usually use his own since it made him a lot more exhausted, but that made it an even better reason to practice them.

 

With a grin and renewed fervor, he pulled up his sleeves and shot webs at the wall. They didn’t stick, and fell like limp spaghetti on the floor. He giggled and assumed it was just because he was rusty. However, when his next several attempts fail, he began to grow more frustrated.

 

He became so frustrated in fact, he decided that he’d  _ find _ a way to make it work. He thought that, perhaps, if he were to connect them into a web, they’d stay together, and he could work from there. This time when he shot his webs, they stuck, and he quickly made a web and crawled into it to test its strength. He giggled at the thought of it, he climbed into his own web. The “picnic incident” was definitely embarrassing, but it and this experience definitely proved that he acted more like a spider than he would usually admit. 

 

Abruptly, his door swung open, and Tony strolled in (after knocking, of course, since Peter was still a growing boy) and almost jumped when he saw Peter lying in a web in the corner of his room, giggling to himself. He let out a snort when Peter realized he was no longer alone and fell out of his web. He began fully laughing when the web came tumbling down after him and fell on his head.

 

Despite his laughter, he walked over and pulled the web off of his head, quickly becoming concerned when it crumbled in his fingers.

 

“Hey kid, what formula is this? It’s not holding up too well,” He began, eyebrows furrowing more when he saw the abandoned strings on the floor to the right of him. He definitely didn't want a kid going out fighting crime with defective webs.

 

“O-oh, they’re actually  _ my _ webs,” Peter sheepishly replied.

 

Tony seemed surprised, but shrugged, “Oh, nice… they’re kinda… crumbly…”

 

Peter giggled and chirped out a quick response of, “Yeah, I guess I’m a little rusty.”

 

Tony didn’t laugh, and seemed a little concerned. 

 

“Kid, you’re kinda shaky, are you sure you’re okay?” He asked softly.

 

Peter was a little surprised at his tone, but tried to reassure him, “No, I’m fine! Must’ve been the coffee.”

 

Tony sighed and grabbed the cup, examining the contents before letting out a gasp.

 

“Peter, this was my drink!” He exclaimed, face morphing into one of horror.

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I promise I didn’t kn-” Peter started rambling, feeling immense guilt immediately, before Tony responded, “No, don’t be sorry, it’s not bad! Well, kind of. I’m pretty sure it had enough caffeine to kill a horse, though,” He claimed dryly before continuing, “I think we should go see Dr. Banner. It might’ve affected your abilities, and we should probably look into it to be safe.”

 

Peter let out a sigh, and walked out of the room, stopping when he heard Tony mumble, “Not to mention it might stunt your growth, and you’re kinda short as is…”

 

“Hey, I heard that!” Peter gasped, feeling defensive. Tony chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, it’s cute.”

 

Peter flushed, feeling embarrassed. They took the stairs down to Dr. Banner’s lab, not wanting to get into a potentially crowded elevator. When they opened to doors, they saw him stand up from where he was sitting at a computer, before he realized they were there.

 

“Hey Tony, Peter, what do you need?” He asked politely, beckoning them to sit down.

 

“Well… Peter consumed a lot of caffeine, and it seems to be affecting his ability to make webs.”

 

Bruce let out a quiet hum as he begun to think. His eyes lit up and he quickly walked back over to his computer and pulled up a Wikipedia page.

 

He began to explain, “A spider’s webs are often affected by different substances the spider consumes, some scientists did a study on it a while ago,” he turned back to them, “So, Peter, what did your webs look like?”   
  


“W-well, they were kinda…” He trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed, again.

 

Tony continued for him, “A mess. They were kinda a mess,” he said grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Peter’s flushed face.

 

“That makes sense, that’s how most spiders react to caffeine, and assuming you don’t drink a lot of coffee regularly, it would make even more sense,” Bruce concluded with a smile.

 

Peter scanned the page, eyes lighting up in a way that made Tony feel worried. He recognized the glint in his eye, and he knew it wasn’t good.

 

“Hey Tony, it says here that small doses of LSD can make a spider’s web more regular and-,” he began, before being cut off by an incredulous, “NO!” from Tony.

 

The look on Tony’s face was priceless, and Peter started laughing, “I was joking!” he said as he gasped for air. Bruce let out a light chuckle, and Tony sighed deeply, “I swear you’re gonna give me a heart attack someday, kid.”

 

Tony smiled fondly at him, and realized that he’d probably never get used to his kid being part spider, but he’d always care about him no matter what. At this point, he was kind of okay that he was becoming a sap, because maybe it wasn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops it got fluffy again because irondad makes me w e a k haha  
> anyways, hopefully you enjoyed it!! as of now, i have 3 more chapters planned, so those will come (hopefully) soon!


	3. whatcha got there? (... a smoothie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a heart to heart with his Aunt, finds out his spider DNA is messing with him again, and goes on a smoothie kick.
> 
> Tony is concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so it's been a hot minute, BUT i'm not dead!!

_ spider fact #698: spiders can’t digest solid food _

 

“Peter, pizza’s here!” Aunt May called from the living room.

 

Peter jumped up excitedly, he hadn’t had pizza for a while and really missed it. He rushed into the kitchen where the boxes were laid open on the counter. One pepperoni and one supreme, both covered in delicious, albeit somewhat disgusting, sheens of grease. He began salivating, ignoring his aunt’s amused snickering.

 

He grabbed four slices, two of each pizza, and thanked her before taking a bite, gasping when he burnt the roof of his mouth. He smiled sheepishly when his aunt shook her head, and made his way to the couch. Between being busy with school and Spiderman, he hadn’t realized how much he missed spending time with his aunt, even if it was just for pizza. 

 

He felt bad, he hoped she didn’t feel like he was abandoning her. The thought of it alone made his stomach uneasy, and he felt himself fill with guilt. His appetite dissipated, and he felt his anxiety grow. His stream of thoughts was interrupted when May lightly grabbed his shoulder, “Are you okay, hun? You look pale and…” she trailed off. He panicked, not wanting her to worry, “No!” he exclaimed. His breath hitched when he saw how alarmed she seemed at his outburst, and how she seemed even  _ more _ worried. 

 

Before he could stop them, his eyes began to well up with tears, threatening to spill over at any moment.

 

“I-I’m fine, I just… I feel li-” he tried to explain, but his voice cracked and the tears had made their way down his cheeks, and he felt embarrassed. He was crying like a baby, and it wasn’t even like anything happened. He felt himself being enveloped by warmth as May cradled him in her arms, lightly swaying them as she desperately tried to calm him down.

  
  


If there was one thing that absolutely broke her heart, it was seeing her nephew so distressed. He began hiccuping as his body shook with the force of his sobbing, and he felt his guilt overwhelm him. She carded her hands through his hair, and let him cry.

 

Once he started to calm down, he looked up at her, tear tracks still evident. The sight made her heart seize up again, and she hugged him even tighter. He took a shuddering breath and he looked down again before mumbling something. 

 

May turned her head in confusion, “I can’t hear you, hun, what’s going on?”

 

He lifted his head from her chest for a moment and quickly wiped his tears away with the heels of his hand as he continued to sniffle. He took a deep breath, “I-I just feel like I h-haven’t been around a lot, and I don’t want y-you to think I’m abandoning you, I-I’ve just been really busy and stressed and I m-miss you a lot, I promise, I j-just don’t want you to hate me, and-” he began to ramble, voice still rough from crying. May let out a gasp before hugging him again, “I know you’ve been busy, it’s okay! I could  _ never _ hate you, I love you so much,” she reassured him, kissing his forehead. 

 

She returned her hands to his hair, teasing out the knots gently as his breathing evened. After a comfortable silence, she spoke, “You okay?”

 

“Yeah… thank you,” he responded, staring up at her with his brown eyes from her lap. 

 

“Of course,” she responded, “I love you.”

 

He smiled, but looked away, “In general. All those years ago, you could’ve gotten rid of me, but you raised me, and you still kept me after you found out about my powers,” his eyebrows scrunched up, “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

 

She let out an affectionate sigh, “Of course I did, I love you so much.  _ So _ much. You’re my entire world, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

 

“What do you mean?! What would  _ I _ do without  _ you _ ?” he giggled lightly.

 

They sat in another comfortable silence, Peter in May’s lap, and her hands running through his messy hair. He sighed, “I think I should go to bed, Happy is picking me up early tomorrow, and you know how much he hates waiting.”

 

May stifled a laugh, knowing all too well how impatient the man was. He sat up, but at that exact same moment, his stomach growled loudly.

 

His face grew red, and he made eye contact with May, before they both began laughing. 

 

“Maybe we should eat first,” she offered. They turned back to the forgotten pizza, and laughed again. 

 

They microwaved it, and ate it while watching TV. May was watching intently, and as she turned to make a joke, she realized Peter had fallen asleep on her lap. She felt a fond smile come to her face, and she reached for her phone.

 

_ ‘Hey, Tony. Thought you might enjoy this.’ _

 

She sent the text with an attached picture of Peter, sleeping peacefully with drool coming out of his mouth.

 

Then, as an afterthought, she added,

 

_ ‘P.S., Don’t overwork him tomorrow. He needs a break.’ _

 

Tony immediately saved the picture to his files, and made sure to make a backup, AND a backup of the backup. He might’ve even made sure to frame it and put it in the lab, but no one needed to know that. 

 

-

 

The next morning, Peter woke up on the couch, covered in three blankets. He groggily sat up, gathering his surroundings as he rubbed at his tired eyes. They finally landed on a light pink sticky note that read,  _ ‘Good morning sleepyhead! I had to head in, but I’ll see you on Monday! Love you!’ _

 

He smiled, before pocketing the note. He knew it was from May, and as the events from the night before came to mind, he felt grateful that she was always there for him.

 

He looked at a clock, before shooting up. It was 7:45, and Happy was going to pick him up at 8, and he still needed to shower. He quickly got ready, and managed to get a shower in, but as he was brushing his teeth, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him, and he leaned over to the toilet, before emptying the contents of his stomach.

 

He let out a groan, and checked his temperature. He sighed in relief as it came up normal. He could still go. He quickly summed it up as a result of him brushing too close to the back of his tongue.

 

With that, he was out the door.

 

When he arrived at the lab, he was confused to see the Tony wasn’t there, but the lights were on. Suddenly, he walked in, grabbed Peter, and pulled him towards the living room.

 

“Hey, kid. I think we’re gonna just chill out for today. You could use a break,” Tony said as he plopped onto the couch. Peter had a feeling May had told him what happened, but he figured Tony was right anyway.

 

So, they sat and began a movie, one that had come out a while ago, but that Tony claimed was ‘an absolute classic’. 

 

Not even thirty minutes in, Peter shot up, one hand clutching his stomach, and the other covering his mouth as he sprinted towards the bathroom, eyes wide.

 

Thankfully, he made it to the bathroom, but Tony was still concerned, so he followed him to make sure he was okay. After Peter flushed the toilet, and turned around, he jumped at the sight of Tony in the doorway, looking abundantly concerned, and it gave him a feeling of deja vu. It reminded him a lot of the concern on May’s face the previous night.

 

“You okay, kid?” Tony questioned softly as he studied the teen carefully, looking for any external injuries. 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, I probably just ate something weird, no worries,” Peter responded, hoping Tony wouldn’t push it.

 

Of course, Tony did. He appeared to be deep in thought for a moment, before he stated, “You need to see Bruce.”

 

Peter began arguing, before being shushed, “No buts. This could be another one of your spider things.”

 

Peter pouted, but allowed himself to be led to the elevator. He was starting to get worried. Was he going to have to start changing his entire life, just because of a stupid spider bite? Sure, the first  _ incident _ was funny, and it really wasn’t a big deal. And sure, he could get by without drinking copious amounts of caffeine, but these developments were starting to happen more and more often, almost as if he hit spider puberty. How long did he have until the government found out and picked apart his body? How long did he have as a normal teen, or as normal of a teen as he could be?

 

Tony looked over, and gave him a comforting smile. It didn’t do much to stop his worrying, but he smiled back. He wouldn’t burden Tony with his concerns.

 

The elevator doors slid open, and they stepped into the lab. This time around, Dr. Banner didn’t seem that surprised to see them. That definitely wasn’t reassuring.

 

“What happened?” He inquired.

 

Tony sighed, “Spider-kid threw up, but I don’t think he has a fever. It could be a stomach bug, but I felt like we should check anyway.”

 

Dr. Banner took a sample of Peter’s blood, offered him a bucket (Peter took it), and went to his computer, clicking the keys of his keyboard rapidly. Without turning around, he asked, “What have you eaten in the last twenty-four hours, Peter?”

 

Peter stumbled over his words as he responded, “U-um, pizza, some water… and a churro?”

 

Tony looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. Peter winced, he would definitely be getting a lecture about how he doesn’t eat enough, and how it’s important that he takes care of himself. At the same time, it felt nice to know he was cared for. 

 

Bruce continued to type, before clearing his throat. He looked up uncomfortably, “Sorry, but what did the vomit look like? I know it’s gross, but it’d help me discover the root of the problem.”

 

Tony looked over to Peter, who looked queasy and had begun to cover his mouth again, “Something tells me we’re about to find out.”

 

As though he was waiting for a cue, Peter hunched over the bucket, and Tony cringed at the sight. He grabbed a bottle of water, and when the kid sat up with a groan, he offered it. 

 

Peter took it gratefully, and they sat in silence for around twenty minutes. Finally, Dr. Banner’s face lit up in understanding as he finished analyzing the blood and the other… sample.

 

“Okay, there’s good news and bad news,” he started. Peter gulped nervously, and Tony rubbed his back to comfort him. 

 

“The good news is, it’s the spider DNA, and you’re not sick. The bad news is that you’re going to have to feel nauseous for a little while longer. I need to figure out what medication would be best, and then find a way to strengthen it. At most, it could take a month, but there’s a small chance I’ll have it done by tonight. I wouldn’t count on it, so you might want to eat more bland foods for a while. It won’t be fun, but it’ll be a temporary solution, just to hold you over until I can find a more permanent one. Any questions?”

 

“Um, Dr. Banner, can you elaborate on what it is about the spider DNA?” Peter asked, his nerves not calmed in the slightest.

 

“Oh, right! Well, spiders can’t digest solid foods, they usually just… drink their prey in a way. This must have developed recently, since you haven’t shown signs of this before, right?” Bruce asked, trying to find out more info.

 

“Yeah, it started this morning,” Peter responded before his face brightened up and he smiled widely, “Tony, do you have a blender?”

 

-

 

“Kid, I don’t understand what you’re getting at here. Shouldn’t you be lying down?”

 

“You’ll see in a second!” Peter said with a grin as he began to blend together some blueberries and a banana in a blender.

 

He winced at the noise, but his grin returned. Once he poured it into a large cup, he grinned widely at Mr. Stark, who was still confused.

 

“You made… a smoothie,” Tony stated dryly.

 

“Yeah!” Peter responded enthusiastically, relishing the evident confusion on Tony’s face. Before Tony could question him further, Peter skipped out of the room, humming as he drank his smoothie.

 

As the week continued on, even after he went back home (his other home, honestly, since the tower had become his second home) he continued to make smoothies. When he arrived at the tower on Wednesday, he calmly sat on the couch by Tony and set his bag down, when Tony stood up suddenly with a gasp. He turned on his heel, pointed at Peter, and with a smug look on his face said, “I got it!”

 

Peter snickered, “It took you long enough.”

 

Tony gave him a playful glare, sat down, and returned to his work. Sometime later he spoke up again, “Good thinking, kid.”

 

Peter felt happy to be praised, but didn’t feel like it was praiseworthy, “I mean, it’s what spiders do, right? If anything, I’m just copying them,” he responded softly.

 

“No, you’re a problem solver. Spiders don’t know anything else, but you solved a serious problem you were facing. It’s  _ awesome _ , kid,” Tony insisted.

 

Peter smiled and hugged Tony, taking his mentor by surprise.

 

“Thank you.”

 

-

 

Peter began drinking smoothies almost religiously. When he woke up, he made a smoothie. If he was working on something? Smoothie. Dinner? Smoothie. Even at lunch at school, he had a smoothie. Flash had begun to make fun of it, but after an especially vicious glare from MJ, he dropped it. Ned and MJ were worried at first, but after an explanation, they shrugged it off, because at this point it wasn’t surprising.

 

However, after two weeks, Peter was sick of all the same flavors. He tried as many combinations of fruits and vegetables as he could think of, and he was bored of all of them. He had been lazily drinking a smoothie, but after a couple sips, he pushed it away, and rested his face on the cold table.

 

MJ rolled her eyes, “What’s up? And don’t say it’s nothing, because it’s obviously something,” she paused, before adding, “We’re worried.”

 

Peter sighed, before propping himself up onto his elbows, cradling his face in his hands, “I swear, I’ve tried every flavor possible, and now they all taste the same.”

 

“...  _ Every _ flavor?” Ned questioned, “Even, like… pizza?”

 

“That’s nasty,” MJ groaned.

 

However, Peter had been  _ enlightened _ .

 

“Ned, you’re a genius, thank you,” Peter exclaimed, and he stood up, as though he was going somewhere.

 

“Uh… Peter? What are you doing?” MJ questioned.

 

“I’m gonna go get pizza!” Peter exclaimed enthusiastically.

 

“Peter,” she sighed, “We still have three hours left of school, and if you leave again you’ll have detention, again.”

 

“Oh, right,” Peter said sheepishly as he sat down.

 

“... Dude, you should bring a blender in your backpack,” Ned said, “You could make smoothies whenever you want.”

 

“Ned, no,” MJ said exasperatedly, turning to Peter, who appeared to be considering it. She looked at him imploringly, “Peter,  _ no _ .”

 

Peter and Ned laughed, and she just shook her head fondly.

 

-

 

As soon as he got home, he was surprised to find that May wasn’t there, but he figured she was still at work and would be home soon. He dropped his bag on the floor unceremoniously, and went into the kitchen, where his beloved blender, who had been named “Bob the Blender” (as suggested by Ned, who claimed, “Bob the Blender! Like Bob the Builder, y’know?”) was waiting. 

 

He grabbed a slice of pizza and folded it up so it would fit in the blender, and as soon as he was about to start blending, the door opened. He looked up to see not only his Aunt, but Tony. They looked to him, about to greet him, when they saw the blender, or more specifically, what was in it.

 

May looked confused, and Tony just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. 

 

“Kid, why,” Tony started, before hurriedly continuing, “Actually, I don’t think I want to know.”

 

Peter shrugged, before continuing his previous task, and blending the pizza smoothie together. 

 

After he poured it in a glass, he set it down and asked, “So, what’s going on?”

 

Tony answered, “Well I figured we should talk about your spider traits with your aunt a little more, so we don’t overwork Bruce, and speaking of him,” Tony paused to grab something in his pocket, before pulling out a glass bottle with tiny gummies, “He finished this stuff, so you could go back to eating solid food… if you want,” he looked over at the smoothie on the counter as he finished speaking.

 

Peter shrugged, “I dunno, I think I just hit a breakthrough here.”

 

He took a sip, and shrugged again. Suddenly, a mischievous grin grew on his face.

 

“Anyone want a smoothie?”

 


	4. “i don’t like the peppermint...” “you don’t like the peppermint?!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry i disappeared for so long, but i’m back!! this one is kinda rushed, because i’m in class, but it’s also kinda angsty oops

_spider fact #1830: spiders don’t like peppermint_

 

Peter _loved_ the holiday season. As soon as his food coma from Thanksgiving wore off, he was stringing lights up all over the place. May would often come home, seeing the living room messily covered in lights. She would laugh lightly, and help Peter redo them until they looked somewhat organized.

 

He loved spending time with his family and gathering around to share gifts, physical or otherwise, and as cheesy as it was, he loved the _love_. He felt loved all the time, with Tony and May and everyone else basically smothering him half the time, but the holidays had a certain feeling that was nearly impossible to replicate elsewhere.

 

However, there was _one_ thing he loved more than all the rest.

 

The food.

 

He adored the baked goods especially. The sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, peanut butter cookies, brownies, all of them made him go from being sad and unmotivated to full of life and joy.

 

He felt himself salivating at the thought of it all. Suddenly, a “ding” disrupted his thoughts and he sprung up from his desk chair. He sprinted down the hall clumsily, nearly knocking over a table on the way. He couldn’t smell them yet, but he was already excitedly anticipating the flavor of his Aunt’s peppermint cookies. He had spent a majority of his afternoon on them, gathering the ingredient, making the batter, and patiently (not really, he sat by the oven staring longingly for a solid thirty minutes) waiting.

 

Peter haphazardly threw on a pair of oven mitts, patterned with tiny flowers, and grabbed the cookie sheet from the oven. The smell of the cookies hit him nearly instantaneously. Instead of feeling happy, he felt nauseous. His face scrunched up in confusion and disgust. Had he messed up the recipe?

 

Peter grabbed a cookie, before wincing it and dropping it again. He put his fingers in his mouth out of instinct, and glared at the cookies, as though they had burned him on purpose. He grabbed a butter knife and stabbed at the cookie grinning, despite the smell, as a wave of steam rose up.

 

He cut off a small piece, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed for a second, before his face twisted in aversion and he immediately spat it out. He gagged as the smell seemed to grow stronger. He held his nose with his fingers and he stumbled to the bathroom. He didn’t feel like he was going to throw up, but he felt _awful_.

 

He was completely befuddled, how did he mess up the recipe? It was a recipe he had memorized, and he’d never messed it up before. He slid to sit on the floor as he pondered it.

 

He groaned abruptly, and dug his phone from his sweatshirt pocket. He pulled up Google and typed furiously at his keyboard. Lo and behold, his spider genes struck once again. He made a noise of frustration and let his phone clatter to the floor. It wasn’t even funny anymore. It was a sick joke, and Peter was sick of it. Sure, the rolling was funny, and could potentially be useful. The caffeine wouldn’t matter, so long as he didn’t overdo it or so long as he didn’t drink coffee before going on patrol. Heck, even the smoothie situation was fine! It was fixed soon enough, but _this_? This was too much.

 

He _loved_ the holidays. Peppermint was his favorite flavor, and favorite scent for this season, if not of all time. He highly doubted Dr. Banner could find a way to fix this, and he was beyond irritated. He went to stand up, but another wave of nausea hit him. He rolled his eyes as he groaned again. He could feel the peppermint invading his nose, his head, his eyes. It was suffocating, and he couldn’t stand it.

 

He finally slid to the floor in defeat, and closed his eyes.

 

-

 

When he finally woke up, Peter opened his eyes to see his Aunt, Tony, and Dr. Banner standing above him, relief flooding their features.

 

“I thought we lost you, kid,” Tony exclaimed, hugging the boy close to him, lifting him off of the couch.

 

May sniffled lightly, and wiped at her eyes as she grabbed at him. Dr. Banner added himself to the hug, and Peter felt a little reassured. At least some things were still the same.

 

As soon as he felt okay, however, Dr. Banner cleared his throat awkwardly and backed up and began speaking.

 

“Peter, can you please try to explain your symptoms, when they started, maybe if you know what caused th-”

 

Peter rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, “Yeah, it’s the spider stuff, again. Apparently ,they don’t like peppermint or something. I felt, and still feel, like crap, which is just dandy.”

 

Tony eyebrows shot up, but before he could reprimand Peter for his attitude, May beat him to it.

 

“Peter Benjamin Parker! Cut the attitude, Dr. Banner is trying to help you, you can’t just snap at him! You know better!”

 

Her eyes were furious, never had she seen him act like this, or at least not since he was a toddler.

 

Peter mumbled something while glaring at a completely innocuous car outside the window.

 

“What was that?” May replied quickly, her face beginning to flush in anger.

 

Peter backed down, just shaking his head, and quickly stormed off to his room, making sure to slam the door.

 

May had her head in her hands and Tony sat by her in disbelief.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Dr. Banner spoke up, “I mean, it’s gotta be tough, going through all these changes. We should just let him cool off.”

 

She gave him a weak smile.

 

Hopefully ,Peter would be calmer in the morning.

 

-

 

Peter was most definitely _not_ calmer in the morning.

 

He wasn’t as fired up as he was the previous night, but he was gloomy and quiet all morning. He stumbled out of his room completely dressed for school, gave May a quick peck on the cheek, muttered out a quiet “goodbye”, and left.

 

He wasn’t much better in class, either. He was continually zoned out, seemingly in a daze, and neither Ned or MJ could get through to him. When he left, he saw Happy in his black car, and he just walked straight by. Happy trailed him for a while, trying to catch up to him, but Peter evaded him by hiding behind a crowd.

 

When he got home, he didn’t do anything different, he went straight to his room, stopping only to look at the cookies, which were still on the counter, with sadness in his eyes.

 

He knew it was dumb, but he couldn’t help but feel defeated. Even when he was “Puny Parker”, he still had some control over his life. Now, he had none. He couldn’t have a certain amount of caffeine, he couldn’t eat without taking meds to fix his digestive system, and now? Now he couldn’t even enjoy one of his favorite parts of his favorite season.

 

He hid himself under the covers of his bed and closed his eyes.

 

-

 

Peter woke up late the next morning. He sat up in fear, before realizing it was Saturday. He was about to ease himself back into his comfortable cocoon, but decided against after looking at the clock with a groan.

 

He looked in the mirror at his face. It was very pale, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for a week. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to make it look somewhat put together, before giving up.

 

He shuffled groggily from his room. He went straight for the fridge, wanting to stock up on snacks and hide in his room. He was ashamed for how he had acted, and even more embarrassed that he hadn’t apologized yet, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it now.

 

He was about to grab a juice box, when the scent of cinnamon enveloped him. He was ready to run, afraid that he was going to be suffocated by the peppermint again, but he eventually let himself be absorbed by it. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and without turning around, he knew who it was.

 

 _May_.

 

He dropped the snacks in his hand and turned around swiftly, only to hug her. At this point, Peter couldn’t keep his tears in. They left red marks as they went down, and she comforted him as his body shook.

 

Once he was breathing normally again, he opened his glossy eyes, only to see that Tony was there too, along with Dr. Banner. He held his breath for a moment, hesitating, but as soon as Tony’s arms were open, he filled the space.

 

Peter left his grasp and looked up towards Dr. Banner, whose gaze was shifting around the room awkwardly. He wiped at his eyes quickly, and launched himself at him. Bruce visibly tensed and his breath got caught in his throat. Peter was ready to pull away, already flushed from embarrassment, but before he could he felt a pair of arms wrap around him gently.

 

He didn’t look up, he was still embarrassed and still sniffling. He did manage to croak out a small, “I’m sorry”, and he continued to mumble it as he hiccuped.

 

That afternoon, he fell asleep on the lap of some of the best people in his life. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to fix it all, but he could adapt, right?

 


	5. i have crippling depression!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is completely consumed by stress and is overwhelmed until he hits a breaking point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda sad!! i can't believe i made it this far, and i know it's cheesy, but i really want to thank all of you for supporting me!! i hope you enjoy the last installment of "Peter Parker's Weird Spider Tendencies".
> 
> p.s.   
> yes, i did cry while writing this because i'm a big baby lmao

_ spider fact #1: spiders get stressed, too. _

 

Peter felt like he was drowning. The past couple of weeks had beaten him and made sure to come back for their revenge. He was constantly locked in his room doing intense studies for finals, save for the times when Tony or May would literally drag him from his room to make sure he was taking care of himself.

 

Most of his teachers had explained what material would be on the final, but others gave no guidance whatsoever. Peter, of course, took this as a reason to study everything they went over throughout the year. 

 

His GPA was a solid 4.0 and the thought of it dropping made his anxiety spike. He had explained this to Tony, who A) wasn’t aware of Peter’s vigorous final study habits, and B) was beginning to show his concern that Peter was constantly holed up in his room. At one point, he even told Peter to  _ not _ study, because he had begun to look visibly tired and thin.

 

That night, he woke up to find Peter on the kitchen floor, surrounded by papers with messy scribbles on them. 

 

Peter hadn’t noticed when Tony walked in, and he missed the disapproving look. Tony had probably waited for a solid 40 seconds before Peter noticed him.

 

Peter, still oblivious, stood up, wincing when his knees popped as he stood, and walked awkwardly to the fridge, squinting as he peered inside. After searching for a moment, he grabbed a smoothie (surprisingly enough, he still enjoyed them). As soon as he turned around and spotted Tony, he recreated a scene that had been heavily referenced amongst the Avengers. Peter, out of pure shock, jumped up, and fell into a ball, trying to propel himself away. The cup, being plastic, didn’t shatter, but the lid popped off loudly, allowing the dark pink liquid to spread all over everything.

 

Of course, as soon as Peter had realized what had happened he came out of his ball. He looked around and took a moment to analyze the scene in front of him with a horrified expression. The floor, his papers, his  _ hours  _ of hard work, were all covered in blended fruit. He frantically scrambled over to them on his knees, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. As he tried to wipe it away to no avail, Tony crouched down and went to touch Peter on his shoulder to comfort him, but as soon as his fingers grazed the shoulder of Peter’s worn sweatshirt, the boy looked up him, tears finally escaping his eyes and making a path down his face. His lower lip trembled and he let out a shuddering breath as his returned his focus to his papers muttering to himself as he tried to clean them. 

 

Tony watched stunned for a moment as Peter rushed around the kitchen, grabbing various cleaning products, grabbing shakily at his papers, before he finally snapped out of it and took broad steps forward to grab him. 

 

He grabbed Peter by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes, and softly whispered, “It’s okay.”

 

Peter began to protest, but let himself be led back to his room. Tony sat with him for a while, comforting him. When Peter’s breathing evened out, and the lines on his face softened, Tony pulled the covers to his chin, smiling softly when Peter snuggled himself in sleepily.

 

Tony tiptoed out, letting the door close with a faint ‘click’ behind him.

 

-

 

The weekend blurred away seamlessly, and Peter refused to talk about what had taken place in the kitchen. Tony didn’t push it.

 

Peter had woken up later than usual and had to rush to the cafeteria at his school to get coffee, knowing that if he didn’t he’d fall asleep during his first final of the day. It wasn’t really a risk he wanted to take. 

 

He hadn’t thought about how it’d affect him on patrol later, and when the thought struck him during his final, he swept it under the rug. He figured it would’ve worn off by the time he left, and he knew he had more important things to worry about.

 

However, when the time came to go on patrol, several problems (rudely) presented themselves.

 

First off, Peter was still  _ unbelievably _ exhausted. 

 

He caught himself nodding off while observing the city and watching for crime from the top of a building. After he caught himself the first time, he backed from the edge, already imagining what the headlines would be if he were to fall. 

 

Second off, his webs didn’t stick.

 

As soon as he shot his webs, they fell to the ground and looked like a mess. He let out a loud groan and decided that he’d just go home and study more. He crawled down the building (thank goodness he could still do that) and after he changed back into regular clothes, begun his trek home. 

 

As he was walking, a revelation hit him. The caffeine was affecting his webs, so it was there, but he was  _ still _ tired. He grumbled to himself about it as he walked home.

 

-

 

On Wednesday, not even a week since the incident in the kitchen, Peter had realized that he had had just about all he could take.

 

He had three finals, and they were in his worst classes. He hadn’t known what to study and despite his best efforts, he still felt unprepared. 

 

When he woke up, he decided he would rush to the library before class to get a little more studying in. He had left early to ensure that he’d have plenty of time to get there, get a spot near a quiet corner and a window, and obviously have enough time to cover the material he needed to cover. 

 

He studied for just over an hour and was feeling reassured. He went to the bathroom to fix his appearance. He tugged his shirt down, messed with his hair, and was ready to go. That is, he thought he was. He let out a sigh, and after catching a whiff of his breath realized he had been in such a rush that he had forgotten to brush his teeth. 

 

He flushed in embarrassment but calmed down once he recalled that he still had plenty of time to run to his locker to get some gum. He made the short trip to his locker and grabbed a piece of gum. He was about to pop it into his mouth, but he heard someone calling his name. He looked around with a quizzical expression, before spotting Ned.

 

Abandoning his previous task, he walked over to Ned.

 

They talked for a while, before heading off to their own classes. Peter went to reach for his phone in his pocket so he could text Ned, but found the gum instead.

 

He unwrapped it quickly and began chewing on it.

 

He was reviewing the notes he had taken that morning, and it took a moment to hit him. His face scrunched up as he suppressed the urge to gag. He pulled out the flimsy wrapper, and after examining it closely, it hit him. Peppermint.

 

He stood up as discreetly as he could and spit it out.

 

The taste lingered, and ironically enough, he felt the need to ask someone for a piece of gum to drown out the overwhelming peppermint taste.

 

He was just trying to focus on the questions in front of him. He knew the material well enough, he had studied it closely.

 

The peppermint was  _ everywhere _ . All at once, he began to fall apart. He felt it in his ears, his lungs, his eyes, just  _ everywhere _ . It was suffocating and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

 

Suddenly, he began to feel overwhelmed from all ends. His head felt like it was going to explode at any moment, everything was too bright, the perfume that belonged to the girl to his right was too strong, and he couldn’t taste anything except the  _ peppermint _ .

 

He tried to push through and even his breathing, but he was struggling.

 

He managed to finish the test, and after slamming it on his teacher’s desk, he asked in a shaky voice if he could go to the restroom. The teacher, who was usually cold and uncaring, seemed worried.

 

“Are you sure you need the restroom? You look like you should go to the nurse’s office,” she whispered softly.

 

He shook his head with a weak smile, receiving a nod and a hand wave in response.

 

He bolted out of the room and went into a sprint to get to the restroom. He was relieved to find that the stalls were empty.

 

He practically threw himself in one, not bothering to lock the door, and let his stomach empty into the toilet, his entire body trembling. 

 

He slid onto the ground, letting out a groan when his face made contact with the floor. He knew how gross it was, but all he wanted was sleep. In his delirious state, he couldn’t seem to find a reason to not.

 

His eyes fluttered closed, and he wasn’t sure that he could keep them open, even if he tried.

 

Or, that’s what he was ready to believe.

 

“What the f- Parker?!” Flash’s voice rang loudly in the bathroom, causing Peter to groan.

 

“Shit… what’s up with you?” He questioned, receiving the same response he got the first time, a listless groan.

 

Peter wrangled his phone from his pocket and let it fall to the floor, too tired to hold it.

 

“What the hell do you want me to do?!” Flash yelled, but calmed down when he saw how awful Peter looked.

 

Normally, Flash would’ve laughed or just left him for some other teacher to deal with, but something seemed seriously wrong, and Flash wasn’t  _ that _ awful.

 

Peter mumbled something indistinct, and when Flash opened his mouth, inpatient and ready to yell again, he said it more clearly.

 

“Dad… call my dad,” he slurred, ignoring the confused and sad look Flash shot his way, “His number is in there, near the top.”

 

Flash didn’t hesitate or question it further, and let it ring, surprised when the person on the other side picked up almost immediately.

 

“Kid? What’s up? Did something happen, should I pick you up?”

 

Flash was shellshocked. It couldn’t be who he thought it was, right?

 

“U-um, I’m Peter’s classmate, he… uh… seems,” Flash trailed off.

 

“What? What’s wrong with him?!” The person barked.

 

“I-I don’t know exactly what, but he just seems… sick? He’s lethargic, and he seems to be sensitive to sound and light,” Flash rattled off, still alarmed at how close the voice of the opposite person sounded to that of Tony Stark.

 

“Shit…” the person muttered, “I’ll be there soon, stay by him.”

 

Flash was about to protest, but before he could the person hung up.

 

He sat on the floor nervously, glancing at Peter to see if he was still breathing. Flash let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when he realized that Peter was, and came to the conclusion that he passed out.

 

Soon enough, heavy footsteps resounded throughout the small bathroom. The one and only Tony Stark rushed in, looking around frantically.

 

As soon as he found Peter, he slid onto his knees and cushioned his head, brushing his hair off of his clammy forehead. 

 

Peter’s eyebrows scrunched up in discomfort, before relaxing again. Tony examined him closely for a moment, before picking him up and nodding towards Flash, who remained shocked.

 

Tony didn’t bother checking Peter out in the office, he didn’t have time.

 

-

 

Peter woke up in his bed two days later. He blinked sluggishly at the ceiling. He stayed like that until Tony eventually came in. When Tony realized that Peter was awake he seemed surprised. He dropped what he was holding and gathered Peter in his arms, pulling him close.

 

Peter didn’t protest, and just let himself be hugged. After a moment, he felt something wet on his shoulder. He peeled himself away from the hug, only to find that Tony was crying.

 

“I thought I lost you,” Tony said, his facade crumbling away, “I-I was so scared…”

 

Peter hugged him, trying to squeeze with all of his might.

 

“I’m sorry,” He began, “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean t- and I just wanted to make you pro- and-” Peter fell apart, struggling to hold it together.

 

Tony comforted him as he let it out, and when Peter had finally calmed, he took a deep breath.

 

“Peter, I know you love being Spiderman, but I think you need to take a break,” Tony paused, trying to gauge Peter’s reaction. When the panic crossed Peter’s face, he continued hurriedly, “Not for long! Just for the next week or so. You’re wearing yourself too thin.”

 

Peter just nodded, seeming less stressed.

 

After they ate, Tony told Peter to get some more rest, since he was still weak. 

 

That night, Peter came to a conclusion.

 

He could do it. He could be a student, a kid, and Spiderman. He could be a good friend and nephew/son, and a good hero. He didn’t have to  _ choose _ .

 

In a way, being a good hero and a good friend were one and the same.

 

Peter continued to ponder over it as he slept. 

 

He could come to accept himself and his weird spider tendencies. 

 

He  _ would _ come to accept them. It would be “Peter Parker and his weird spider tendencies”.

**Author's Note:**

> whoops that got really sappy at the end but what can i say, i love soft stuff


End file.
